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Wednesday, July 26, 2006

To myself

I had been planning to write all the cute things that have been said/ done lately by my little ones. Like when pointing out that Buffalo Bill Cody lived to be 82 years old, and my 6 and 3/4 year old asked if that was older or younger than me!
But instead I opened my home page and read the headlines, and I now, depressed, am compelled to write about Andrea again.
Ms. Yates was found not guilty by reason of insanity and will be committed to a mental institution until it is found that she is no longer a "threat."
Oh, those poor children!
I took the poll after the story which read: Do you agree? Yes, she was psychotic and thought she was saving her children; No, she knew what she was doing. After choosing No of coarse, it showed 63% of those polled agreed with me. I suppose that being in the majority doesn't make you right, but it did give me comfort that I am not the lone person crying for justice. There is no justice here, but in the end it will be served.
For now I will hold my babies.............
and cry for hers.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Rantings

I am always more emotional during a pregnancy, but there also seems to be plenty to get emotional over during that time.
This time it's the retrial of Andrea Yates and the beginings of a trial for Jessica's killer, John Couey, and all the terrible details attached to those cases.
As a mother of children near the ages of the Yates children, I cannot help but imagine how each one would have acted. The feelings of utter betrayal by the one person they were always supposed to trust. I cry and cannot sleep if that is prevelant in my mind. The things those children must have lived through in their last hours! When did we as a nation decide that commiting a crime was different if you have some sort of mental condition. Five precious little ones died and some how Andrea is able to claim "not guilty"!?! By no stretch of my imagination can I consider her not guilty! She told them "I just killed my kids."
Don't get me too wrong, I think she needs treatment while in jail, but I don't think she should have the chance to get out. If she has to live with the memories of her little ones struggling under her as she drown them, I say that is what you get for such behavior. I don't believe those are psychotic episodes as much as they are memories. It would perhaps be a psychotic episode had she never commit such a heinous injustice and was still seeing those things. As I tell my little ones everytime I have to explain why they can't watch something a friend can: what you put into your mind goes in and stays in. So it is your choice what you will have to live with in your mind. (and, of coarse, for now it is my choice for them.)
The idea that the police botched the investigation against John Couey really gets me too! Read about Jessica, how full of life and love she was. Then read of the "aledged" (tho confessed!) crimes against her by a man with a criminal history! A man who never should've been out of jail! It makes me sick to think of that sweet little girl bound and buried alive after being sexually assaulted. The horror of her last hours that we wish no one ever had to go through.

We should all be outraged by these crimes against our children! We should be taking action to protect the innocent, and to protect justice. There should be no "not guilty by reason of insanity" it should always be "guilty" first and "insane" second. We should be tougher on those criminals who offend repeatedly. We should realize that some crimes, like Martha Stewart's, are insignificant compared to Couey and Duncan. Why the GPS device for Martha's offense which harms no one physically and yet we continually let these preditors out with no tracking whatsoever or only tracking which is vouluntary!?! I know just about everyone has made that argument, but there is quite a bit of truth to it. We need to re evaluate what is important to us, and act accordingly.